Listen -

Voices are everywhere, and they’re screaming at us: use me, buy me, believe me.

We’ve got voices all over our culture: chat rooms, commercials, billboards,

and bumper stickers, and they all want our immediate attention

And then there is that voice from the past or that voice in your head that says

you messed up too many times.

You can’t do it.

You can’t do it on your own.

You’re not smart enough.

You’re not strong enough.

You’re not stable enough.

You’re not thin enough.

And then there’s the enemy.

The father of lies that

likes to get in there and say no way you’ll ever make anything of yourself

I had this amazing conversation with my dad not too long ago.

He’s a great man.

I love him so much.

And he told me about the first time that his father said

something encouraging to him.

My dad had just put a room onto his house.

And my grandfather was a master carpenter and he was inspecting my dad’s work.

And he got done and went to my dad, and said, «That's a good job Harry.

«And that was the first time my grandfather said something encouraging to my

dad, and he was 38 years old

Man, and without hearing that voice.

Without hearing that, whether it’s the

actually the physical audible voice of your father or mother, or the voice from

God, you don’t have any identity.

You have no way to function.

I think Jesus

knew that.

I think that’s why, when He went through His ministry,

touching people and healing people, and speaking to people.

He never asked

them to be anything that they weren’t.

He tried to get them to understand who

they were.

That’s why he said, «You're my daughter, you’re my son,

you’re my brother, you’re my sheep.»

He wanted us to identify with Him and

understand that we’re His creation;

that we’re worth something

Yeah, and that’s something amazing about Jesus.

He could look down into

somebody’s spirit and draw out who they really were.

I mean, he looked at Simon

and said, «You know what?

You’re not Simon, You’re Peter.

You’re a Rock.»

And how 'bout that woman that came up to Him when He was going through that

crowd, and she touched His garment, and he turned around and he said, «Daughter.

«His first word: Daughter

You know, Jesus got that honestly from His father.

Three times when Jesus was

under immense pressure in his ministry, God the father actually spoke.

I mean, spoke audibly, It wasn’t inward.

Jesus heard it, and the people around

Jesus heard it.

Like at His baptism, God the father said, «you are my son,

I love you and I’m pleased with you.»

And then at the transfiguration,

the father spoke again and the disciples heard it.

The father said, «You are my son.

I have chosen you, and God just established Christ’s purpose on

that mountain.»

And then, before Christ died at Gethsemane in John 12,

Jesus prayed: should I pray to be delivered from this hour?

No.

This is why I’ve come.

Glorify your name father.

And the father spoke and said,

«I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.»

And I think that promise

just drove Christ to the cross

I think it did too.

You may have never heard that voice.

That voice that says

you’re worth it.

You’re smart enough.

I believe in you.

I love you.

There may be a gaping hole in your spirit where that voice was supposed to

speak into, and it’s just a vacuum.

Listen, Jesus doesn’t require anything of

you.

You can’t work to get His approval.

Remember, when he was affirmed by His

father, when God looked down and said, «This is my son who I love.

«Jesus hadn’t done a single miracle.

All he asks of you is that you listen